Heartless by Marissa Meyer is a great work of fiction inspired by Alice in Wonderland, and more specifically, the Queen of Hearts. This tale highlights how Catherine became the Queen of Hearts, despite her dislike for the King and desire to open her own bakery.
I was initially attracted to this book because I had just read Meyer’s Cinder books {which will be highlighted in another blog post} and I’m also a sucker for anything related to Alice in Wonderland. Because of these two pieces, I had high hopes for this book and I absolutely tore through it. Even though you know she becomes the Queen, you still hoped that she would somehow manage to avoid it and fulfill her dreams of both success and true love. The King’s Jester was her actual love interest, which I thought was a really cool twist. I loved him. He was a very fun and intriguing character and I wanted their love to survive.
I loved the Mad Hatter even more. He was believable, cantankerous and the most complex character in the book. Other familiar Alice characters make appearances as well, including the March Hare, the White Rabbit and even the terrifying Jabberwocky comes in to terrorize everyone.
Meyer’s style is easy to read and the suspense made me read further at every single opportunity I had and I finished the book quickly. I wanted more at the end, but there really isn’t anywhere to go and I understand why Meyer has it set as a stand-alone book. I thought this was a great Alice prequel and it’s now easily one of my favorite books.
Thank you for reading! Here it is to check it out!